Our latest debut author is Amy Stone, whose novel, The Raven Wheel, will be released in September.
Tell us a little about your book and how you came to write it.
The Raven Wheel follows three troubled teenagers as they struggle to seize control of their lives. Wayward Tye wants to finally make his father proud. Bright but awkward Kian is desperate to reconnect with his estranged mum. Impulsive rebel, Ria, harbours a secret desire to murder her father. Their lives intertwine as they strive to succeed and find themselves in too deep, too late. The Raven Wheel is my second novel. I spent years writing, submitting, redrafting and re-submitting the first – another YA novel about a young carer. After it was called in a few times but ultimately not taken up, I decided to shelve it and start a new project. The Raven Wheel was the result!
What makes your book unique?
I feel like gritty realism is due a comeback in YA and I’m hoping my book could be a very small part of that. Other worlds are great to lose yourself in, but I think there’s something about stories showing the dark side of reality that is so compelling.
Your book will soon be in readers’ hands. Which part of being published are you most excited about?
I’m excited to find out what people think of it – good or bad! You have to take the rough with the smooth as a writer and years of knock-backs have toughened me up. It will just be great to finally have people reading it purely for their own enjoyment, rather than someone who has to look at it as a business proposal.
What has been the most challenging part of your journey to publication?
Rejection, obviously! Finding time, too. Submitting to agents and publishers is soul-destroying. Finding time to write and redraft is a real challenge, too. I have a toddler, a baby and a job – so to say life is busy is something of an understatement! Writing with kids is a whole new challenge that I’m still grappling with, as is the work you have to do to promote yourself as an author. I feel a lot of pressure to give myself the best chance of being published again, I don’t want to waste any momentum I gain from my debut.
Do you have a writing mentor, or someone who has influenced your work?
I really admire Arundhati Roy. I read The God of Small Things in my early teens and it made a lasting impact on the way I see the world. The twenty year gap between Roy’s novels, after the first was such a storming success, tells you a lot about her priorities, I think. She’s accomplished so much for so many causes. It’s not just that, though – she’s honest about the fact that fiction takes time.
If there was one book that you could have written, other than your own, what would it be and why?
I’ve always loved Junk! by Melvin Burgess and would like to think my book occupies a similar space. It’s one of those books that you read and think, this was in my head already, I swear, and you’ve just brought it out. Junk! was the book that made me want to write YA.
What advice would you give to other writers hoping to publish a novel?
It’s a cliché, but keep going. You’ll be sick of people telling you to stick with it, but that’s the only way anyone succeeds. It took me ten years of obsessing, breaking my heart and melting my mind to finally get somewhere with my writing, and even then it’s only a very modest first step. Just because you shouldn’t quit the day job doesn’t mean you should give up your dreams – we all have to make a living but if you’re lucky enough to have another endeavour that gives your life meaning, make time for it.
Is there a debut novel you’re particularly looking forward to reading in 2019?
I’m really looking forward to reading Water Shall Refuse Them, by Lucie McKnight Hardy. There’s a real buzz around it on my Twitter timeline, and how can you not be intrigued by a hot-70s-folk-horror? Yes please.
About the author
A F Stone grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, where The Raven Wheel is set. She moved to study English Literature at the University of Sheffield, where she now works.
The Raven Wheel will be released on 28 September 2019. You can find out more on Amy’s website or follow her on Twitter. Order the book from Waterstones.